MI6 codebreaker attended US security conference just before his death

The body of British spy Gareth Williams was found two years ago, just after a US visit.

A top British codebreaker who died a mysterious death in his flat two years ago had just returned from a computer security conference in the United States before his death, according to information disclosed during an inquest this week.

The body of Gareth Williams, a codebreaker with Britain’s MI6 spy agency, was discovered stuffed into a sports bag in his bathtub on Aug. 23, 2010, though he’s believed to have been killed Aug. 15.

Williams had just returned to London on Aug. 11 after spending six weeks in the United States, where he attended the annual Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas as part of a contingent of British spies, according to witnesses who spoke at the inquest. He attended Black Hat in 2008 as well.

It’s believed Williams may have also attended Black Hat’s companion hacker conference, DefCon, which follows Black Hat and draws many of the same attendees. In 2010, Black Hat was held July 24 to 29, while DefCon ran from July 30 to August 1.

Black Hat is one of the top security conferences in the world, targeting the professional security crowd, while DefCon is geared more specifically to hackers. Law enforcement agents, the military and undercover spies regularly attend both conferences—often undercover—to keep pace with the latest research and learn what hackers are up to. They also recruit hackers for professional work.

DefCon holds an annual spot-the-fed contest to out undercover agents as a good-natured sport. Attendees who spot a fed receive an "I spotted a Fed" T-shirt, while the outed agent gets a trophy T-shirt of his own to take back to his office, sporting the phrase "I was spotted at DefCon."

Not everyone wants to be outed or plays by the conference ground rules for working undercover. Several years ago, undercover agents believed to be working for Israel’s Mossad spy agency were kicked out of the conference after registering as journalists and posing as a French film crew from Canal Plus.

It’s not known specifically why Williams attended Black Hat or if he and his colleagues attended incognito. A Black Hat organizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Williams, who was 31 when he died, was found inside a North Face nylon sports bag in the bathtub of his apartment. His nude body was in the fetal position, with his arms folded across his chest. The bag was closed with a padlock, and two keys to the padlock were found underneath Williams’ body inside the bag.

MI6 coder Gareth Williams attended the Black Hat security conference in the U.S. with fellow spies days before his mysterious death.

the Metropolitan Police

His mobile phone and a number of SIM cards were laid out on a table nearby; the phone had been restored to its factory settings. There were no signs of forced entry to the apartment and no signs of a struggle.

Williams was described by those who knew him as a "math genius" who graduated from Bangor University at the age of 17 with a degree in mathematics. He’d begun his university studies while still in secondary school. In 2001 he joined Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s listening post, helping to break coded Taliban communications, among other things. He was considered a "world-class intelligence officer" and had won two awards for codebreaking, according to his boss at GCHQ.

In 2009, he was loaned out to MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, for a three-year stint, but asked to be transferred back to GCHQ after a year. He was preparing to move back to his old job around the time he was killed.

The Daily Mail quoted anonymous sources last year saying that Williams had been working on secret technology to track stolen money being laundered through Britain by Russian mafia. The technology was reportedly designed to allow MI6 agents to follow money from bank accounts in Russia to criminal gangs in Europe via internet and wire transfers.

He also worked on another secretive project to develop devices for stealing data from mobile phones and laptops using wireless technology.

"He was involved in a very sensitive project with the highest security clearance," the anonymous source told the Daily Mail. "He was not an agent doing surveillance, but was very much part of the team, working on the technology side, devising stuff like software."

The source indicated that Williams’ work to disrupt the Russian mafia could have put him at risk.

"Some of these powerful criminal networks have links with, and employ, former KGB agents who can track down people like Williams," the source said.

Williams also had reportedly worked with the NSA and British intelligence to intercept e-mail messages that helped convict would-be bombers in the United Kingdom. He had made repeated visits to the United States to meet with the National Security Agency and worked closely with British and U.S. spy agencies to intercept and examine communications that passed between an al-Qaeda official in Pakistan and three men who were convicted in 2009 of plotting to bomb transcontinental flights.

Investigators said during the inquest that there was no evidence Williams was killed as a result of the work he was doing, but they acknowledged that a full investigation had been thwarted by the spy agencies who employed Williams, raising suspicions that the agencies might have been involved in his death or at least know who was responsible for it.

Hours before he died, surveillance cameras captured Williams in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood while he was shopping at the luxury department store Harrods. Williams was expected at work the next day, but never showed up. MI6 did not report him missing, however, until Aug. 23, at which point his body had decomposed, hindering attempts to determine the precise cause of death.

The spy agencies also failed to hand over nine thumb drives found in Williams’ locker at work. The drives were released to investigators only this week. Other electronic equipment that Williams used at work was handed over to Scotland Yard investigators four days after Williams’ body was discovered, raising questions about whether they had been cleaned by the spy agencies first.

Family and friends testified that Williams was unhappy with his work environment at MI6 and felt he didn’t fit in with his colleagues. During the inquest, testimony revealed that the coder had conducted unauthorized searches of an MI6 database that could have put him at risk if he was discovered. Investigators said, however, that MI6 was apparently unaware that Williams had conducted the searches.

A coroner said at the inquest that while it appeared unlikely that British spy agencies played a role in the coder’s death, it was still a "legitimate line of inquiry" for the investigation.

Investigators found no fingerprints or other any other evidence indicating someone had been with Williams the night he died, or that anyone beyond his family had ever been in his apartment. Investigators said at the inquest that small traces of incomplete DNA had been found on the tiny padlock that had been used to closed the bag in which Williams’ body was stuffed. The only other DNA evidence found in the apartment that didn’t belong to Williams or his family was found on a green hand towel in the kitchen.

It's freak accidents like this that really make you think. I remember when this almost happened to me. I dropped my bag into the bathtub, reached over to pick it up, slipped on the wet floor, and there I was, in the bag. "Remain calm," I thought, as I reached out of the bag with my foot. But when my toe caught on the zipper and zipped it closed, the panic really started to set in. Wouldn't that freak you out a little bit? So I did what anyone would do: I struggled, squirmed, and tried to "hop" the bag out of the tub, which of course (I'm sure you've all been in this situation) knocked the padlock off of the shelf right onto .. whew -- *just* missed the zipper. They found me the next day, dehydrated but otherwise ok.

I'd say it was one of the intelligence services that did it. Not the US, who put a bullet through your forehead and describe it as a "self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Maybe someone in MI6 working as a mole for the Russian mob? I assume not directly a mafioso, as I presume they're a bit bloodier about things. I could be entirely wrong, of course, but that doesn't seem like the usual organized crime style.

Aside from that, the way it's apparently been handled is a little off, too. If they don't know who did it, they certainly don't seem all that eager to find out who did.

I feel really bad for the family because even if the security agency knows who did it the family will never find out. Even if they "took care" of the killer they'd never bother letting people know. More likely it would be a professional from the mafia so it wouldn't even be worth it for MI6. You also need to wonder how often stuff like this happens and is never reported.

Funny, I always thought the series seemed pretty realistic on the whole.

The investigation itself should probably be dropped. Why waste taxpayer funds any farther on an assassin you're not going to find. Either MI6 did it or the Russians, or various shades between. Let the body and his family rest already.

It's freak accidents like this that really make you think. I remember when this almost happened to me. I dropped my bag into the bathtub, reached over to pick it up, slipped on the wet floor, and there I was, in the bag. "Remain calm," I thought, as I reached out of the bag with my foot. But when my toe caught on the zipper and zipped it closed, the panic really started to set in. Wouldn't that freak you out a little bit? So I did what anyone would do: I struggled, squirmed, and tried to "hop" the bag out of the tub, which of course (I'm sure you've all been in this situation) knocked the padlock off of the shelf right onto .. whew -- *just* missed the zipper. They found me the next day, dehydrated but otherwise ok.

And here I thought I was the only one that happened to. Whew, thanks! I've felt so alone all these years.

They're doing the autopsy and investigation two years later and haven't taken DNA from anyone yet? Um... what the hell?

A poorely worded article, and lack of knowledge or mis-interpetation or information, gives that impression. Actually they took DNA samples a long time ago, but started gathering more later. Its not uncommon in investigations, take samples initially (or in the early stages of the investigation) and then take more later for a re-sampling to verify earlier samples again to make sure or to increase the pool of samples because some additional DNA was discovered.

No evidence that his murder was related to his work in security - because adorning a dead body with pointless padlocks is quite mundane.

This story has actually really disturbed me...

Yeah, I found this story really disturbing too... I was intrigued, disgusted, and sad all at once.I don't know what this guy did or the impact his work has on the future, but this sounds like it was a rather sick assassination.

No evidence that his murder was related to his work in security - because adorning a dead body with pointless padlocks is quite mundane.

This story has actually really disturbed me...

The padlock is a big clue here. No one padlocks something unless they don't want someone to get into it (or at least give the impression of security) or wants to make sure it stays closed, but the use of the North face bag its self is senseless to pad lock because it can simply be cut (or ripped) open but also a North Face bag if stuffed full has a tendancy to "un-zip" if its buldging (as it would probably be with a body inside), so the padlock was probably to keep it shut (to keep it from unzipping). So just based upon the padlock presence its self and the fact they keys for the padlock were inside the bag, and a very small padlock at that (so someone wasn't seriously concerned about security) leads my past criminal investigator career senses to think one of two things initially (just based upon reading the article), 1 - they used the bag for the body to delay the smell of body death putrification from escaping the apartment (flat) for a while (its eventually going to get out anyhow with a 'container' like that), or 2- because the keys were in the bag they had planned to remove the body and dump it somewhere else and were going to use the bag to carry it and needed it to stay shut so put the padlock on (sort of a tell tell sign if the bag comes open in public view and a body part flops out) but either changed their minds or got scared off before they could remove the body (in removing the body they would want to dispose of the keys as well so just put them in the bag with the body, but i'll bet there was some DNA on the keys also because people handle keys without thinking before putting on gloves, there is always DNA on keys and its a favorite spot to check for investigations - its like bullet casings as shooters put on gloves to handle the gun but don't think about having touched at least one of the bullets without gloves when loading a magazine.

Really? You aren't going to mention the fact that previously Gareth Williams had been found chained and padlocked to his bed in his underwear by his landlady and her husband, having shouted for her because he could not escape, and had claimed that he was attempting a 'houdini' style escape attempt, although the landlady very much felt there was a sexual element to it?

You aren't going to mention that a recent coroners report said that it would have been almost impossible to get him into the bag if he was dead already?

This is looking increasingly like a case of sexual misadventure, rather than any government agency conspiracy.

Really? You aren't going to mention the fact that previously Gareth Williams had been found chained and padlocked to his bed in his underwear by his landlady and her husband, having shouted for her because he could not escape, and had claimed that he was attempting a 'houdini' style escape attempt, although the landlady very much felt there was a sexual element to it?

You aren't going to mention that a recent coroners report said that it would have been almost impossible to get him into the bag if he was dead already?

This is looking increasingly like a case of sexual misadventure, rather than any government agency conspiracy.

Really? Do you know how many times I've been found myself chained and padlocked to a bed trying to attempt a 'houdini' style escape while in my underwear? I'm here to say it's not easy and I've had to call for help a couple times myself.

No evidence that his murder was related to his work in security - because adorning a dead body with pointless padlocks is quite mundane.

This story has actually really disturbed me...

The padlock is a big clue here. No one padlocks something unless they don't want someone to get into it (or at least give the impression of security) or wants to make sure it stays closed, but the use of the North face bag its self is senseless to pad lock because it can simply be cut (or ripped) open but also a North Face bag if stuffed full has a tendancy to "un-zip" if its buldging (as it would probably be with a body inside), so the padlock was probably to keep it shut (to keep it from unzipping). So just based upon the padlock presence its self and the fact they keys for the padlock were inside the bag, and a very small padlock at that (so someone wasn't seriously concerned about security) leads my past criminal investigator career senses to think one of two things initially (just based upon reading the article), 1 - they used the bag for the body to delay the smell of body death putrification from escaping the apartment (flat) for a while (its eventually going to get out anyhow with a 'container' like that), or 2- because the keys were in the bag they had planned to remove the body and dump it somewhere else and were going to use the bag to carry it and needed it to stay shut so put the padlock on (sort of a tell tell sign if the bag comes open in public view and a body part flops out) but either changed their minds or got scared off before they could remove the body (in removing the body they would want to dispose of the keys as well so just put them in the bag with the body, but i'll bet there was some DNA on the keys also because people handle keys without thinking before putting on gloves, there is always DNA on keys and its a favorite spot to check for investigations - its like bullet casings as shooters put on gloves to handle the gun but don't think about having touched at least one of the bullets without gloves when loading a magazine.

I think the keys in the bag are being over-thought. I've read other articles that mention other keys for the lock were found in the apartment outside the bag. It may be that the keys in the bag were simply in the bag, not placed there for any particular reason.

I think it's highly unlikely that anyone in government service was responsible for his death. If they were, it is significantly more likely they would have framed someone else for the deed to make it less of a mystery, and thus not as tantalizing a news story. DNA, fingerprints, and other evidence can all be planted. Government has access to these methods, Typically criminals do not.

The thing that isn't mentioned in this article, but came out during the inquest, is that it's literally impossible that he put himself in the bag without anyone else around. His entire bathroom was clean - there weren't even any footprints, which you would expect from someone walking naked in a bathroom. Nor were there handprints on any of the doors. For this to be a solitary misadventure, he'd have had to have locked himself in the bag and then somehow cleaned his bathroom from inside the bag.

So, somebody cleaned his flat after he was placed in the bathtub.

It's clear that the bag was placed in the bathtub in order to hide decomposition, as the fluids leaking out of his body were going straight down the drain. The heating in the flat had been turned on high. It was clear that he hadn't been involved in a struggle, so it seems most likely that he was poisoned. Unfortunately they couldn't find any trace of any poison - most likely due to the decomposition that had started.